The role of angiotensin receptor subtypes in cerebrovascular regulation in the rat.

The present studies were conducted to examine the roles of angiotensin II, angiotensin IV, and the angiotensin receptor subtypes in the cerebral circulation. The effects of angiotensin II, the selective AT1 receptor antagonist losartan, and the selective AT2 receptor ligands, PD 123319 and CGP 42112, on cerebral blood flow autoregulation, were studied during increases and decreases in blood pressure in normotensive rats. Cerebrocortical blood flow was measured by laser-Doppler flowmetry, while systemic blood pressure was either increased by phenylephrine infusion, or decreased by controlled haemorrhage. The effects of angiotensin II, and AT1 and AT2 receptor ligands on the contractility of rat anterior cerebral artery in vitro, were studied using cannulated, perfused vessel segments. The effect of angiotensin IV on cerebral blood flow after experimental subarachnoid haemorrhage, and possible involvement of nitric oxide, was studied in rat. Subarachnoid haemorrhage was simulated by injecting 0.3 ml arterial blood into the cisterna magna, while cerebral blood flow was measured by laser-Doppler flowmetry. The main findings in the present studies were that angiotensin II, the AT1 antagonist losartan, and the AT2 ligands PD 123319 and CGP 42112, shifted the cerebral blood flow autoregulatory range towards higher blood pressures. PD 123319 and CGP 42112 acted as AT2 receptor agonists. In vitro, angiotensin II elicited an AT1 receptor mediated contraction of rat anterior cerebral artery. Angiotensin IV was able to reverse the acute CBF reduction after subarachnoid haemorrhage. No evidence was found to support the involvement of nitric oxide in this response. In conclusion, there is strong evidence supporting a role for the AT2 receptor in the regulation of cerebral circulation. The role of the AT1 receptor is questionable, and the losartan induced autoregulatory shift is possibly mediated indirectly through AT2 receptor stimulation. Although AT1 receptors mediate the angiotensin II induced contraction of rat anterior cerebral artery in vitro, this effect does not explain the effect of losartan on CBF autoregulation. Angiotensin IV increases cerebral blood flow after experimental subarachnoid haemorrhage possibly by dilating cerebral vessels through stimulation of the AT4 receptor.